Railroad overcrossing bridge project begins

On Wednesday, July 28, the beams were put in place for the temporary bridge for the Richmond Beach Overcrossing Project. The second and last was placed at about 2:30 pm after a train passed under the first beam.

The project includes constructing a temporary detour bridge with a temporary traffic signal, Once the temporary bridge is in place the old timber bridge will be torn down and a new concrete bridge constructed in its place with approaches over the two existing and very active railroad tracks.

When the new bridge is operational, the temporary bridge will be removed and presumably the at-grade crossing will be removed as well. The at-grade crossing was added so that equipment too heavy for the old bridge could be moved to 27th NW (also known as Apple Tree Lane). Burlington Northern has installed an access road to their new switch and placed a chain-link fence between the current bridge and the sewage substation along Richmond Beach Drive complete with barbed wire to inhibit foot traffic.

For safety reasons a section of Richmond Beach Drive in the vicinity of the bridge is temporarily closed to thru traffic during construction. Vehicle access to driveways will be maintained and Metro is operating under a temporary bus re-route plan.

Most of the funding for this $5 million project is through grants:

• WSDOT: $4.25 million
• BNSF: $400,000
• City: $350,000

The bridge was originally built in 1923 by Great Northern Railway Company and rebuilt in 1956. The typical life span of a timber bridge is 45 to 50 years. This bridge provides sole access to 35 homes on 27th Avenue NW, historically known as Apple Tree Lane.

--Information for this article from the City of Shoreline and from resident Tracy Tallman. Bridge photos by Tracy Tallman.